1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a component feeder for feeding a large number of chip components aligned in a line.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional component feeders, bulk feeders and vibrating hopper feeders are known. The bulk feeders may be roughly classified into the disentanglement-by-air type and the disentanglement-by-thrust-up-pin type. In the air type, there is a problem of difficulty in adjusting the amount and the direction of air, while in the thrust-up pin type, there is a problem in that components are prone to be damaged as the pin strikes components at each stroke. Since chip components are simultaneously directed toward a funnel-shaped outlet in either of these types, even if an entanglement is broken once, another entanglement will form, resulting in decreased feeding efficiency. In contrast, in the vibrating hopper feeder, although entanglements are difficult to form, there are problems in that the apparatus is expensive, vibrations may be transmitted to other apparatuses, and a large space is required for installation.
In order to solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application No. 9-180348 of the same assignee (which is not published yet), proposed a component feeder having a simple structure and high efficiency in aligning and discharging components. This component feeder comprises a component storage housing for accommodating chip components disposed between a fixed drum and a rotary drum, an aligning groove disposed on the inner surface of the fixed drum to slide the chip components downward aligned in a predetermined direction, a gate disposed in the bottom end of the aligning groove to pass chip components individually to slide down along the aligning groove in a predetermined orientation therethrough, and a discharge path for discharging the chip component passed through the gate in an aligned state. On the inner surface of the rotary drum, lug members are provided for urging a component stopping at the gate in an abnormal orientation to move toward the direction opposite to discharge so as to undo the blockage.
In this component feeder, chip components are dropped into the aligning groove so as to be aligned in a predetermined direction, then are passed through the gate so as to be aligned in a predetermined orientation, and moreover, blockages are cleared by the lug members of the rotary drum, resulting in high efficiency in aligning and discharging components. However, since chip components are directly supplied to the component storage housing, in consideration of efficiency in aligning and discharging of chip components, it is not preferable to supply a large number of chip components. When a large number of chip components is supplied in an enlarged component storage housing, extended agitation time of chip components produces a risk of damage to components.